The significance of lithium-ion batteries as an electrochemical energy store has increased drastically over the past years. In addition to the use in portable devices such as laptops or mobile telephones, the focus lies in particular on the use in electric vehicles (EV). Depending on the design for a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid or an EV without an additional internal combustion engine, the capacity of present battery systems achieves values of approximately 1 kAh to 10 kAh. This corresponds to a stored energy of approximately 3 kWh to 40 kWh.
Reports about uncontrolled overheating, fires or explosions of rechargeable laptop batteries demonstrate the potential risks that this storage medium may pose. Due to the considerably higher amount of stored energy, batteries for EVs have a particularly high risk potential in the event of a defect.
However, reliable operation and high safety of lithium-ion batteries are indispensable for the comprehensive introduction in EVs.